Insertion control

ABSTRACT

An insertion system for collating sheets of printed material for insertion into an envelope is disclosed. The insertion system includes an insertion machine, application software and an operating system. Included in the application software is a first function and a second function, where the first function performs tracking for each packet and the second function controls operation of the insertion machine. Each packet includes a plurality of pieces of printed material that may ultimately be sealed in an envelope. The operating system runs the application software at any given instant and executes the first and second functions.

This application is related to and incorporates by reference thefollowing: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/045,589, filed Nov. 8,2001; U.S. patent application No. Ser. 10/036,653, filed Nov. 8, 2001;and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/081,167, filed Feb. 22, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to insertion machines and, morespecifically, to automation of operation and management of insertionmachines.

Insertion machines are used to prepare mailings and/or sort paperwork.In certain industries such as customer billing and direct mailings,insertion machines may stuff a maximum of about 13,000 envelopes perhour. The material in these envelopes can be customized for eachrecipient, as is the case with bills. An operator of the insertionmachine is tasked with assuring that the envelopes are stuffed with theproper material. Tracking may be performed on the envelopes and anoperator of the insertion machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in conjunction with the appendedfigures:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an insertion system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a control systeminteracting with portions of an insertion machine;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of application software thatruns on an operating system associated with the control system;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process for insertingpackets into envelopes;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process for performingthe insertion;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process for gatheringpieces of printed material for the packet;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process for monitoringoperation of the insertion machine and its operator; and

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process for controllingoperation of the insertion machine.

In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various components of the same type maybe distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The ensuing description provides preferred exemplary embodiment(s) only,and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configurationof the invention. Rather, the ensuing description of the preferredexemplary embodiment(s) will provide those skilled in the art with anenabling description for implementing a preferred exemplary embodimentof the invention. It being understood that various changes may be madein the function and arrangement of elements without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

The present invention provides methods and apparatuses for collatingsheets of printed material for insertion into an envelope. In oneembodiment an insertion system for collating sheets of printed materialfor insertion into an envelope is disclosed. The insertion systemincludes an insertion machine, application software and an operatingsystem. Included in the application software is a first function and asecond function, where the first function performs tracking for eachpacket and the second function controls operation of the insertionmachine. Each packet includes a number of pieces of printed materialthat may ultimately be sealed in an envelope. The operating system runsthe application software at any given instant and executes the first andsecond functions.

In another embodiment, an insertion system for collating pieces ofprinted material for insertion into an envelope is disclosed. Theinsertion system includes an insertion machine, an insertion controlfunction for controlling operation of the insertion machine, a jobtracking function for tracking each packet through the insertionmachine, and an operating system for running application software. Eachpacket includes a number of pieces of printed material. The applicationsoftware performs the insertion control and job tracking functions andis executed with the operating system.

In yet another embodiment, a method for inserting pieces of printedmaterial into an envelope with an insertion machine running an operatingsystem is disclosed. In one step, functions of the insertion machine aremonitored while it operates. Functions of the insertion machine arecommanded while it operates. A number of pieces of printed material aretracked through the insertion machine while it operates, where at leasttwo of number of pieces are correlated to different envelopes. Theoperating system performs the commanding of the functions of theinsertion machine and the tracking of pieces through the insertionmachine.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a block diagram of an embodiment of aninsertion system 100 is shown. The insertion system gathers pieces ofprinted material; performs any further processing of those pieces;collates the pieces into packets; stuffs the packets into envelopes;seals, meters and further imprints the envelopes; stores informationabout a insertion job and operator; and requests maintenance for aninsertion machine 112. Other tasks are also performed as discussedfurther below. A machine operator 108 manages operation of the insertionsystem for a particular insertion job. Included in the insertion system100 are a control system 104, a job warehouse 124, a maintenance requestsystem 120, and a management system 128 interconnected with a network116. The control system interfaces manages the insertion machine 112with guidance from the machine operator 108. The management system 128tracks information relating to the insertion process in a job database136, a report database 140 and an operator database 146. Although theseare shown as separate databases, they could be combined or divided inany combination as is well known in the art.

The machine operator 108 interacts with the control system 104 toperform an insertion job. The various jobs are stored on the jobdatabase 136 and can be selected by the operator 108. Each piece in thejob is referenced and a digitized picture is stored for display. Thepieces are loaded and checked before the operator 108 begins insertion.During the insertion process, the operator 108 monitors the insertionmachine 112 and fixes simple problems like misfeeds.

The insertion machine 112 serially takes the pieces from a number ofpiece inserters as the track passes each piece inserter to form a packetof pieces. In this embodiment, 3,000 to 20,000 packets are run throughthe insertion machine 112 per hour. Each piece inserter is coupled to atrack position. As the track moves from position to position, the piecesthat form the packet are added to the track. Some embodiments could havemultiple tracks that gather sub-packets for combination into a largerpacket. An envelope is started down a parallel track where it is openedfor insertion of the packet. The envelope can seal and possibly meteredand further imprinted before sorting. After sealing, a diversionconveyor belt may receive the envelope if the job tracking functionnoted a problem with the envelope or its contents. These defects can befixed by the operator 108. Some embodiments use one or more diversionconveyor belts to sort the envelopes that are still tracked at thispoint. In various embodiments, the envelopes may or may not be sealedfor a whole job or selectively for certain envelopes in the job.

The control system 104 manages operation of portions of the insertionsystem 100. A user interface on the control system 104 facilitatesperformance of four main functions, namely, tracking the operator 108,control of the insertion machine 112, tracking of the insertion job asit is performed, and maintenance requests for the insertion machine 112.More specifically, the control system 104 tracks counts of pieces,packets and envelopes; tracks operator efficiency; tracks insertionmachine 112 set-up; tracks the movement of the insertion machine 112through its cycle; provides job-specific information; manages the weightof pieces, packets and envelopes; provides piece-level reporting foreach packet; logs events; checking of the sequencing of the envelopebuild; and other quality checking. The piece-level reporting allowsnoting how each envelope was built and if anything was missed for thatenvelope. This embodiment of the control system 104 performs at leastthe job tracking and machine control on a single computer system. Thatis to say, a single operating system running on a computer system runsapplication software to perform these tasks. Some embodiments alsoperform the operator tracking and maintenance requests on the sameoperating system. In one embodiment, the computer system is a single ormultiple-processor personal computer running a Microsoft Windows™operating system such as Windows NT.™ Other embodiments could usedifferent operating systems and/or arrays of computers working under thecontrol of a single operating system.

The network 116 provides interconnection between sub-systems of theinsertion system 100. In various embodiments, the network 116 couldinclude one or more of: a wired LAN or WAN, a wireless LAN or WAN, anInternet connection, etc. Various sub-systems may be in the same ordifferent buildings or could even be in different geographic locals.Further various sub-systems could be combined or separated into otherarrangements in the various embodiments.

The pieces and their precursors for the insertion job are stored in thejob warehouse 124. The precursors could include rolls where the piecesare cut from, printed or unprinted pieces that will get furtherprinting, embossed or unembossed cards, etc. Some piece inserters willfinish the precursors or the precursors could be finished by othersystems. The job warehouse 124 receives electronic or manual requestsfor the pieces or precursors for a particular job as specified in thejob database 136. If an operator 108 or the control system 104determines a particular piece inserter is running low, the operator 108can make a manual request or the control system 104 can make anautomatic request for more pieces or precursors. In some embodiments,the finished product from the insertion process is returned to the jobwarehouse 124 for distribution.

A maintenance request system 120 receives maintenance requests for thevarious subsystems. The operator 108 can manually enter requests or thecontrol system can automatically recognize problems and make requests.Servicing and diagnostic issues are also recorded with the maintenancerequest system 120 along with usage information that could triggerpreventative maintenance. The operator 108 or control system 104 mayshut down the insertion machine 112 when a request is made if furtheroperation is not advisable.

A management system 128 tracks insertion jobs and the operators 108.Insertion jobs are designed prior to production of the job and enteredinto the management system 128. The management system may regulatebroader aspects of producing mailings, beyond the insertion task. Acomputer system, such as an IBM AS/400™ is used for the managementsystem 128. Some embodiments may have a number of control systems andinsertion machines in various locations. The management system 128 canbe used by all or some of these other control systems and insertionmachines.

There are three databases 136, 140, 146 coupled to the management system128. The job database 136 coupled to the management system 128 holds theparticulars on jobs. Information such as the pieces and envelopeinvolved; digitized pictures of the pieces and envelope; the furtherprocessing for those pieces or envelopes; customization for pieces,packets and envelopes; unique identifiers for customized pieces orenvelopes; weight of the individual pieces and envelopes for meteringpostage of the aggregate; and special handling instructions are storedin the job database 136. After completion of a job, the particulars foreach envelope and its contents are stored in the report database 140and/or a log file. Any problems are recorded in the report database 140along with the remedial action taken to correct the problem for eachenvelope in a job. An operator database 146 stores the start/stop/pausetimes for the insertion machine 112 of the operator 108 along with theproductivity of that operator 108 while operating the insertion machine112. Productivity includes the time taken to insert a number ofenvelopes, the maintenance calls requested, and complexity of the job,etc. Payroll related hours worked for the operator 108 may also bestored. In this embodiment, operator evaluations can be based upon theinformation in the operator database 146.

With reference to FIG. 2, a block diagram of an embodiment of a controlsystem 104 interacting with portions of an insertion machine 112 isshown. In this embodiment, the control system 104 manages operation ofthe insertion process for each envelope, manages the operation of theinsertion machine 112, tracks the interaction between the operator 108and the insertion machine 112, and detects and reports maintenanceissues. Included in the control system 104 are computer hardware 204, anencoder 216, a digital I/O card 208, a serial I/O card 212, an operatingsystem 224, application software 220, a local job database 236, a localreport database 240, and a local operator database 246. Portions of theinsertion machine 112 interfaced to the control system 104 are alsoshown in FIG. 2 and include a machine position sensor 242, an envelopeprocessing function 244, various piece inserters 276, other controlelements 268, and other machine sensors 272.

The encoder 216 interacts with a machine position sensor 242 todetermine the position of the tracks of the insertion machine 112. Byknowing the position of the track, the location of the packet orenvelope with respect to the piece inserters 276 or other machinery canbe determined. Each piece, packet and envelope can be tracked duringprocessing to know when errors have occurred. Envelopes improperlyfilled can be diverted to a separate conveyor for fixing. Further, theinsertion machine 112 can be stopped if packets are being formedimproperly.

Computer hardware 204 interfaces with the various components of theinsertion machine 112 to perform the insertion process. The encoder 216,digital I/O function 208 and serial I/O function 212 can beoff-the-shelf expansion cards that are modular and plug into thecomputer hardware 204. In one embodiment, the computer hardware is asingle processor personal computer running a non-real time operatingsystem 224 called WindowsNT,™ but other embodiments could use otheroperating systems. Application software 220 and databases 136, 240, 246run with the operating system 224 to allow program control and datastorage. The application software 220 runs in a single operatingenvironment set forth by the operating system 224. The computer hardware204 includes a network interface to the other components in theinsertion system 100.

The interfaces to the insertion machine 112 are through the encoder 216,digital I/O function 208 and serial I/O function 212. The valuesproduced by the encoder 216 change asynchronously with respect to thecomputer hardware 204. This embodiment encodes the positions of thevarious tracks of the insertion machine 112 by sampling the encoderperiodically. Binary values are both sampled and produced by the digitalI/O function 208. The digital outputs can actuate various actuators,solenoids or otherwise command sub-systems into functioning, and thedigital inputs sample signals produced by the various sub-systems. Forexample, a vacuum actuator could be commanded by a digital output tofire such that a piece is pulled from an inserter 276, whereafter anoptical sensor produces a signal for the digital input that indicatesthe piece was actually pulled. The serial I/O function 212 is used tocommunicate serially with the various sub-systems using protocols suchas RS-422 and RS-232, for example. With the serial I/O function 212binary or ASCII messages are passed to, for example, read a bar code orprint an address on an envelope. The digital inputs 208 and the serialinputs 212 can trigger interrupts to synchronously read out thesevalues.

Local databases 236, 240, 246 are maintained by the operating system 224and application software 220. These local databases 236, 240, 246 storeinformation specific to the control system 104 and insertion machine 112that is updated constantly while events occur in the loading process.The records in these local databases 236, 240, 246 are archived in theglobal databases 136, 140, 146 associated with the management system 128upon finishing an insertion job. After archiving, the local databases236, 240, 246 may be deleted or stored as space constraints allow.Further the information in the local databases 236, 240, 246 could becombined in less than three databases or divided among more than threedatabases as is well known in the art.

This embodiment has one or more of the following types of pieceinserters 276: a multi-piece hopper 252, a single piece hopper 260, afeeder 264, and a feeding system 256. Fifty-five piece inserters 276 areused in this embodiment, but other embodiments could use up toninety-nine piece inserters 276 to stuff each envelope with piecesand/or sub-packets. The different piece inserters 276 have variousconfigurations of bar code readers, sensors, actuators, and programmablelogic controllers that serve to fold and/or imprint the pieces, pull oneor more pieces, read codes from the pieces, organize multiple-pieces ina sub-packet, and/or otherwise interact with the pieces to assure theyare tracked and placed on the track properly. Tracking of the pieces orsub-packets is done by reading bar codes, magnetic markers or otherindicia of a specific piece or sub-packet.

The four types of piece inserters 276 of this embodiment performslightly different tasks. The multi-piece hopper tower 252 produces asub-packet of multiple-pieces while only using one position on thetrack. In contrast, a single-piece hopper 260 produces a single pieceper track position. Feeding systems 256 further process the materialfrom the warehouse 124 to produce the pieces. Such a feeding system 256may cut statements from a roll before collating and folding the multiplepages of the statement. Other feeding systems 256 may emboss creditcards or print further information on the pieces. Feeders 264 are usedto add specialty pieces, such as cards stuck to a paper backing, to thepacket on the track. For example, new credit cards are often processedby a feeder 264.

The envelope processing system 244 takes the packets and stuffs theminto a respective envelope. The envelope is sealed and possibly weighed,metered, and further imprinted. Any envelopes that the control system104 determines may have a problem is diverted to a separate conveyorbelt for remedial action. Those envelopes that are producedsatisfactorily are stacked and returned to the job warehouse fordistribution.

Depending on the configuration of the insertion machine 112 and thetasks to be performed by the insertion machine 112 other controlelements 268 and/or machine sensors 272 can be used. These controlelements 268 could include actuators and solenoids to flip envelopes,fold pieces, or perform other processing for a particular insertion jobspecified by the management system 128. Other machine sensors 272 couldbe used, for example, to make sure no piece(s) is pulled from a trackposition that is supposed to be empty or weigh the packet at varioustimes to make sure excess material was not pulled. There are manyvariations possible to configure insertion machines 112 for variousjobs.

Referring next to FIG. 3, a block diagram of an embodiment ofapplication software 220 is shown that runs on an operating system 224associated with the control system 104. This embodiment of theapplication software 220 includes five main functions, namely, aninterface function 304, an operator tracking function 308, a jobtracking function 312, a maintenance request function 316, and aninsertion control function 320. These functions may be divided among anynumber of applications running on the operating system 224. Further,additional functions and applications could also run on the operatingsystem 224.

The interface function 304 is used by the operator 108 to interact withthe control system 104. The operator 108 enters logs into the system100, enters job information, starts/stops/pauses the insertion machine112, makes maintenance requests, enters other information using thescreens associated with the interface function 304. Functionality andcustomizations to the control system 104 can be done by modifying theinterface function 304 along with other applications 220.

The operator tracking function 308 allows monitoring the performance ofthe operator as well as securing the insertion system 100 fromunauthorized use. The operator logs into the system such that identityis authenticated and future interaction can be attributed back to theoperator. Starting, stopping, pausing the insertion machine as well asmaintenance calls are recorded and stored in the operator database 146.The quantity of insertions done over time are also recorded. With thisinformation, productivity determinations are possible.

The job tracking function 312 provides a record of the processing on thepieces and the envelopes they are inserted into. Tracking of pieces withcodes that are read during insertion allows knowing where those pieceswere inserted. If desired, the codes can be tracked to a particularenvelope and/or recipient account. For pieces without machine readablecodes, sensors can confirm that a single piece was inserted. Weighing ofthe packet and/or pieces can also confirm only a single piece wasinserted. Job tracking allows for the quality control such that anymistakes can be identified and remedied. The job tracking data isinitially stored in the local report database 240 during processing andcopied to the global report database 140 after processing of the job iscomplete.

Certain maintenance issues are performed by the maintenance requestfunction 316. The routine maintenance triggered by the usage of theinsertion machine can be automatically requested by the maintenancerequest function 316 as the triggering milestones are met. Other repairconditions that can be detected by the maintenance request function canbe reported to the maintenance request system 120 automatically. In somecases a wizard process or form may request further information from themachine operator 108 to confirm or diagnose a potential repaircondition. For example, the operator 108 can use a form to specifyissues, such as a cutter problem, an envelope stuffing problem, a paperfolding problem, a computer problem, etc. For some repair conditions,the operator 108 relied upon to recognize them. In this embodiment, aform or wizard process allows requesting maintenance in a standard wayto ease diagnosis and repair.

The insertion function 320 provides machine control of the insertionmachine 112. Pieces are pulled and tracked; solenoids and actuators aretriggered; motors are started and stopped; tracks are advanced;envelopes are stuffed, further imprinted and metered; and subsystems arecommunicated with in a process which inserts pieces into the envelopes.This control function 320 manages the operation of the insertion machineto allow it to perform its task. In this embodiment, the insertioncontrol function application 320 is run on a consumer-grade operatingsystem such as WindowsNT,™ which is not a real-time operating system.Other embodiments could use a real-time operating system.

With reference to FIG. 4, a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process400 for inserting packets into envelopes is shown. The depicted portionof the process 400 begins in step 404 where the operator 108 logs intothe system 100 using the operator tracking function 308. In step 408,the operator tracking function 308 checks the local or remote operatordatabase 246, 146 to authenticate the user name and password and todetermine the authorization level of the operator 108. Some actionsrequire a junior operator 108 to get authorization from a supervisor.Once the operator 108 is logged into the system 100, the availableinsertion jobs in the job database 136 can be viewed in step 412 forpossible selection of an insertion job in step 416.

Once a job is selected, particulars for that job are retrieved from thejob database 136 for storage in the local job database 236 in step 420.The particulars include material identifiers, images, piece weights,stuffed envelope weight, machine readable codes, and other informationand instructions. Material identifiers, images and other particulars areavailable to the operator 108 in step 424 for viewing during set-up ofthe job. In step 428, the operator 108 and/or the supervisor approve thejob for running. The operator may manually or the control system mayautomatically request the material for the job from the warehouse 124from a pick list in step 432.

At some point during the set-up, the operator 108 configures the pieceinserters and other portions of the insertion machine 112 for thespecified insertion job. This may include indicating to the insertionfunction 320 which piece inserters 276 will be at which track positions,the type of piece inserter 276 at that track position, the pieces thatwill be pulled from a particular piece inserter, the type of processingto be performed on the envelope, etc. Wizards or forms from theinterface function 304 can ease this task while performing certain rulechecking on the information input. For example, the form may not allow aconfiguration that doesn't assign each piece or sub-packet to aninserter 276 or may not allow assigning a particular piece to anincompatible inserter 276.

In step 436, the insertion process is performed as described in relationto FIG. 5 below. After completion of the insertion job, the results arestored in the global report database 140 and the operator database 146in step 440. The information may or may not be purged from thecorresponding local databases 240, 246. Other embodiments may forgolocal databases 236, 240, 246 altogether in favor of retrieving andstoring data directly from the global databases 136, 140, 146.

Referring next to FIG. 5, a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process436 for performing the insertion is shown. The depicted process beginsin step 504 where potentially uncustomized or unfinished material ispulled from the warehouse 124. In step 508, customized printing may beperformed to the material. Further processing in the form of cutting,folding and collating performed by feeding system 256 to form aninsertion piece or sub-packet in step 512. In step 516, the remainingpiece inserters 276 are loaded with pieces. It is noted that there aretypically a number of piece inserters 276 for a loading job and they mayhave any number of configurations to perform various processing of thevarious pieces. Further some of the additional processing of the piecesmay be performed before or during the insertion processes 436. Forexample, rolls of statements could be cut, printed and collated beforeinsertion to produce sub-packets, or a multi-piece hopper could collateand fold inserts during and in synch with the insertion process 436.

In step 520, the packet is formulated for a particular envelope asfurther described in relation to FIG. 6 below. Once the packet isgathered from the various piece inserters 276, the envelope is pulledfrom another inserter 276 in step 524 and loaded onto a track movingparallel to the packet destined for the envelope. In step 528, thecontrol system activates a vacuum to open the envelope flap and anoptical sensor verifies the envelope was opened. The envelope is stuffedwith the packet with result proceeding on one of the tracks in step 532.In step 536, the envelope is sealed, further imprinted and metered, ifspecified, in the envelope processing section 244. The postage can bedetermined by calculating the sum of the envelope and the packet inside.This weight could also be measured in some embodiments or the weightcould serve as a quality control check that would indicate the wrongnumber of inserts in an envelope.

During the loading process, errors may be detected by the job trackingfunction 312 for a particular envelope. Errors could include an improperweight, the envelope flap not opening, a piece not being pulled, toomany pieces being pulled, or a piece being pulled where there is nopiece inserter 276, etc. If the error is serious enough to requirerework as determined in step 540, the piece is diverted to anotherconveyor belt to correct the errors in step 556.

Where the envelope passes without error or where any errors arecorrected, the result is recorded along with other information about theenvelope and its contents in the local report database 240 in step 544.Some embodiments may only record errors detected instead of data on eachenvelope. The envelopes are stacked in step 548. Those stacks may betemporarily stored in the job warehouse 124 or may be directly shippedor mailed in step 552.

With reference to FIG. 6, a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process520 for gathering pieces of printed material for the packet is shown.The process begins in step 604 where the track is moved to the nextpiece inserter station. The signal from the position sensor 242 isencoded to let the control system 104 confirm that the track has moved.Any machine readable code on the piece or sub-packet is read in step 608using a bar code reader, for example. The value read is passed to theserial I/O function 212 for the computer hardware to process 204.

The piece or sub-packet is pulled and loaded onto the track in step 612.In some embodiments, the piece inserter 276 may be further processingthe material as it is pulled. A sensor input is sampled by the digitalI/O function 208 to indicate to the computer hardware 204 whether apiece or sub-packet was pulled in step 616. Further confirmation in someembodiments is performed by weighing the packet. In some cases, theinsertion machine 112 may sense an error in step 620 that is best fixedby suspending the track feed in step 632. The packets affected could befixed in step 636 along with anything wrong with the insertion machine112 that may have been causing the problem. If there are no more trackpositions with inserters 276 as determined in step 624, the result ofthe packet build is recorded in step 628. Where there are more pieces toinsert, processing loops back to step 604 in a cycle until all piecesare moved to the track to form the packet. At any given moment in thisembodiment, there are around twenty packets in various stages ofcompletion.

Referring next to FIG. 7, a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process700 for monitoring operation of the insertion machine and its operatoris shown. Errors, low supplies, operator intervention, etc. can pause orstop the insertion machine 112 in various situations. The depictedportion of the process 700 begins in step 704 where the start time ofthe loading process is recorded in the local operator database 246.Insertion may continue for some time before interruption.

In step 708, the first type of interruption may be triggered thatrelates to a maintenance situation. If there is a maintenance situation,the insertion machine 112 is stopped in step 728. The stop time isrecorded in the local operator database 246 in step 732. The maintenancesituation could be recognized by the operator 108 or the control system104. Examples of situations that could stop the machine 112 entirelyinclude: a cam overload where the insertion machine 112 throws out itsmotor for the drive assembly; a broken track; or an empty piece inserter276. Additional information may be requested of the operator 108 withforms and/or wizards to ease repair. If there is no maintenancesituation, processing continues to step 712 where the operator cancompletely stop the machine in a break mode where both the feed and thedrive for the insertion machine 112 are stopped. Where a break isinitiated, the machine is stopped in step 728 and that stop is recordedin step 732. Break situations include, for example, shift changes, lunchbreaks, etc.

In step 716, the operator 108 may interact with the interface function304 to manually activate a feed stop mode or the control system 104 mayautomatically activate the feed stop mode upon detecting a system errorin step 720. In this mode, the insertion machine 112 still operates, butthe track feed is stopped in step 736. When the feed is stopped, thetime of that stoppage is recorded in the local operator database 246 instep 740. In step 724, the operator 108 may resume the feed after fixingthe issue that prompted the activation of feed stop mode.

After fixing the system error issue, processing continues to step 744where the amount of material in each piece inserter 276 is analyzed.Where the material is running low with more envelopes to fill, morematerial can automatically be ordered from the job warehouse 124. Otherembodiments may present the low material problem to the operator 108 toallow manual confirmation or manual ordering of the material. After anymaterial supply problems are fixed, processing loops back to step 708where the process begins over again.

With reference to FIG. 8, a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process800 for controlling operation of the insertion machine 112 at thesoftware level is shown. This insertion control process 800 runs on aconsumer-grade operating system and not a real-time operating system.The process 800 is encoded in the insertion control function 320 thatruns in the application layer of the operating system and not in thedriver layer or operating system layer. However, other embodiments couldrun on a real time operating system or different software layers.

The depicted portion of the process 800 begins in step 804 where thehardware interrupt vectors are configured. In this embodiment, thedigital input card 208 has one interrupt and the serial input card 212has another interrupt. Each digital input can trigger the interrupt whena digital value is presented or when there is a change in the digitalvalue for that digital input. The serial input triggers the interruptwhen one or more new data bytes are presented to the serial input card212. Other embodiments could have a number of hardware interrupts forthe digital input card 208 and the serial input card 212. The interruptvector for each interrupt is configured to activate software that willservice each interrupt in step 804. In this way, insertion controlfunction 320 activates when any time one of the interrupts is triggered.

In step 808, a multimedia timer is set to trigger a software interruptevery millisecond. Other embodiments could use different types of timersand software interrupts of various priority. The interrupt vector forthe software interrupt is configured in step 812 to activate theinsertion control function 320 each time the timer expires. As is thecase with software interrupts on a non-real time operating system, theexpiration of the timer may not be recognized until some time after theactual expiration. The tasks checked from the software interrupt arealso checked in relation to the hardware interrupts.

In step 816, the insertion process 436 is performed with the insertioncontrol application 320 waiting for either of the hardware or softwareinterrupts. When there is an interrupt processing continues to step 820where a check is made of an interval timer that was reset during thelast interrupt service. If the interval timer has exceeded 120 ms asdetermined in step 824, the insertion machine 112 is stopped in step828. Where machine control has been unattended to for as long as 120 ms,a serious error is presumed. The operator 108 can diagnose the problemand request maintenance or restart processing. The interval timer isadjustable in various embodiments to, for example, account for differentinsertion machines 112 and speeds of operation.

Where the interval timer has not exceeded the 120 ms threshold,processing continues to step 832 where a periodic insertion controlroutine is performed. This routine may trigger actuators and solenoids,command subsystems, read the encoder 216, etc. as part of the machinecontrol process. In step 836, the interval and multimedia timers arereset as the insertion control routine finishes its tasks. Oncefinished, the processing loops back to step 816 to wait for anotherinterrupt and begin the loop portion over again.

A number of variations and modifications of the invention can also beused. For example, although some embodiments do not expressly statethere are a number of insertion machines, it is to be understood that anumber of machines may be run in parallel. These insertion machines allmake requests to the job warehouse, maintenance request system andmanagement system in parallel over the network.

While the principles of the invention have been described above inconnection with specific apparatuses and methods, it is to be clearlyunderstood that this description is made only by way of example and notas limitation on the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An insertion system for collating sheets ofprinted material for insertion into an envelope, the insertion systemcomprising: an insertion machine; and application software thatcomprises a first function and a second function; and an operatingsystem for running the application software at any given instant,wherein: the first function performs tracking for each packet, whereineach packet includes a plurality of pieces of printed material, and thesecond function controls operation of the insertion machine, wherein thefirst and second functions are executed with the operating system. 2.The insertion system for collating sheets of printed material forinsertion into the envelope as recited in claim 1, wherein the insertionmachine operates in a range of 3,000 to 20,000 packets per hour.
 3. Theinsertion system for collating sheets of printed material for insertioninto the envelope as recited in claim 1, wherein the tracking includescorrelating at least one of the plurality of pieces to a packet.
 4. Theinsertion system for collating sheets of printed material for insertioninto the envelope as recited in claim 1, wherein the insertion machineincludes a piece inserter, a transport track, and an envelope stuffer.5. The insertion system for collating sheets of printed material forinsertion into the envelope as recited in claim 1, further comprising ascanner for reading a code from one of the plurality of pieces.
 6. Theinsertion system for collating sheets of printed material for insertioninto the envelope as recited in claim 1, wherein: the second functionperforms machine control, and the operating system is a consumer gradeoperating system without native real-time capability.
 7. The insertionsystem for collating sheets of printed material for insertion into theenvelope as recited in claim 1, wherein: the application softwarefurther comprises a maintenance request function that reportsmaintenance issues for the insertion machine to a point away from theinsertion machine, and the maintenance request function is executed withthe operating system.
 8. The insertion system for collating sheets ofprinted material for insertion into the envelope as recited in claim 1,wherein: the first function is performed by a first application, thesecond function is performed by second application, and the first andsecond applications are part of the application software.
 9. Theinsertion system for collating sheets of printed material for insertioninto the envelope as recited in claim 1, wherein: a third function, thatis part of the application software, tracks an operators interactionwith the insertion machine, and the third function is executed with theoperating system.
 10. The insertion system for collating sheets ofprinted material for insertion into the envelope as recited in claim 9,wherein the third function stores information relating to an operator ina remote operator database.
 11. An insertion system for collating piecesof printed material for insertion into an envelope, the insertion systemcomprising: an insertion machine; and an insertion control function forcontrolling operation of the insertion machine; a job tracking functionfor tracking each packet through the insertion machine, wherein eachpacket includes a plurality of pieces of printed material; an operatingsystem for running application software, wherein: the applicationsoftware performs the insertion control and job tracking functions, andthe application software is executed with the operating system.
 12. Theinsertion system for collating pieces of printed material for insertioninto the envelope as recited in claim 11, wherein the insertion machineoperates in a range of 3,000 to 20,000 packets per hour.
 13. Theinsertion system for collating pieces of printed material for insertioninto the envelope as recited in claim 11, wherein the job trackingfunction includes correlating at least one of the plurality of pieces toa packet.
 14. The insertion system for collating pieces of printedmaterial for insertion into the envelope as recited in claim 11, whereinthe insertion machine includes a piece inserter, a transport track, andan envelope stuffer.
 15. The insertion system for collating pieces ofprinted material for insertion into the envelope as recited in claim 11,wherein the operating system is a consumer-grade operating systemwithout native real-time capability.
 16. The insertion system forcollating pieces of printed material for insertion into the envelope asrecited in claim 11, wherein the application software further comprisesa maintenance request function that reports maintenance issues for theinsertion machine to a point away from the insertion machine.
 17. Theinsertion system for collating pieces of printed material for insertioninto the envelope as recited in claim 11, further comprising an operatortracking function, that is part of the application software and tracksan operators interaction with the insertion machine.
 18. The insertionsystem for collating pieces of printed material for insertion into theenvelope as recited in claim 17, wherein the operator tracking functionstores information relating to an operator in a remote operatordatabase.
 19. A method for inserting pieces of printed material into anenvelope with an insertion machine running an operating system, themethod comprising steps of: monitoring functions of the insertionmachine while the insertion machine operates; commanding functions ofthe insertion machine while it operates; tracking a plurality of piecesof printed material through the insertion machine while it operates,wherein: at least two of plurality of pieces are correlated to differentenvelopes, and at least the tracking step and one of the monitoring andcommanding steps are performed with the operating system.
 20. The methodfor inserting pieces of printed material into the envelope with theinsertion machine running the operating system as recited in claim 19,wherein the preceding steps are performed without using a real-timeoperating system.
 21. The method for inserting pieces of printedmaterial into the envelope with the insertion machine running theoperating system as recited in claim 19, wherein the tracking stepcomprises correlating at least one of the plurality of pieces to apacket.
 22. The method for inserting pieces of printed material into theenvelope with the insertion machine running the operating system asrecited in claim 19, further comprising at least one of the followingsteps: tracking an operators interaction with the insertion machine; andreporting maintenance issues for the insertion machine to a point awayfrom the insertion machine.
 23. A computer-readable medium havingcomputer-executable instructions for performing thecomputer-implementable method for inserting pieces of printed materialinto the envelope with the insertion machine running the operatingsystem of claim
 19. 24. An insertion system for collating sheets ofprinted material for insertion into an envelope, the insertion systemcomprising: an insertion machine; and application software thatcomprises a first function, a second function, and a third function; andan operating system for running the application software at any giveninstant, wherein: the first function performs tracking for each packet,wherein each packet includes a plurality of pieces of printed material,the second function controls operation of the insertion machine, and thethird function tracks an operator's interaction with the insertionmachine, wherein the first, second and third functions are executed withthe operating system.
 25. The insertion system for collating sheets ofprinted material for insertion into the envelop as recited in claim 24,wherein the third function stores information relating to an operator ina remote operator database.
 26. An insertion system for collating piecesof printed material for insertion into an envelope, the insertion systemcomprising: an insertion machine; an insertion control function forcontrolling operation of the insertion machine; a job tracking functionfor tracking each packet through the insertion machine, wherein eachpacket includes a plurality of pieces of printed material; an operatortracking function for tracking an operator's interaction with theinsertion machine; and an operating system for running applicationsoftware, wherein: the application software performs the insertioncontrol, job tracking and operator tracking functions, and theapplication software is executed with the operating system.
 27. Theinsertion system for collating pieces of printed material for insertioninto the envelope as recited in claim 26, wherein the operator trackingfunction stores information relating to an operator in a remote operatordatabase.
 28. An insertion system for collating pieces of printedmaterial for insertion into an envelope, the insertion systemcomprising: an insertion machine; an insertion control function forcontrolling operation of the insertion machine; a job tracking functionfor tracking each packet through the insertion machine, wherein eachpacket includes a plurality of pieces of printed material; a maintenancerequest function for reporting maintenance issues for the insertionmachine to a point away from the insertion machine; and an operatingsystem for running application software, wherein: the applicationsoftware performs the insertion control, job tracking and maintenancerequest functions, and the application software is executed with theoperating system.